AMA: I was a paid Internet troll.

the extreme conservative position? and you're only half sorry? aren't the extreme conservatives the right wing nuts wreaking havoc on this country &
her economy? I repeat; and you're only half sorry? what exactly would it take for 100% full on regret? how do people like you look at themselves in
the mirror? sleep at night? raise children? ................ ya know what, this is your introduction and I hate to rain on your parade but shame on
you. and all for a few bucks. maybe when I calm down I'll come back and say hello in my nice tone of voicetype. people like you tick me off. sorry
OP. I'm sure you will find many on the right here on ATS to stroke your ego ------ I however am not and will never be one. move to the left -------
in other words --- lean forward........(but we ain't paying you to do it)

Come on, talk to me son, I'm a priest...an enlightened priest of sorts, but none the less a priest. I can offer you salvation but you have to show
me the way. Now I know you want to confess, please, spill your sins before it's to late. Once one goes so far down a dark path it's hard for me to
show him the light again. Shower me with your sins and in return i'll give you a golden shower...of "light"? I guess?

I can respect the fact that you are not willing to name names. I think to some extent that is also understandable. I do however have a few questions
for you, if you are willing to answer them.

1. Your profile says you have been here for a few years now. Was this account you are currently using one of several for the purpose of trolling this
site?

2. Do you currently have other accounts on this site?

3. If this site was assigned to you as you have claimed, and you have never trolled this site as you claimed, did you face any consequences for
choosing to not troll this site?

4. As an employer when you are paying someone to do a job, you want them to do the best job possible and reach all the goals that said job is required
to meet. So with that in mind, what exactly was the job for which you were being paid for and what purpose did it serve? What were the goals of this
job and how would one be able to judge your job performance?

That is it for now, I am looking forward to your response and thanks in advance for your response.

Originally posted by ZeroKnowledge
So in your experience - how can one spot a paid troll? What are the signs. If you are half sorry, at least share secrets of trade.

I cannot say that I've witnessed a great deal of it here. In all likelihood because politics is not a significant focus.

The three most active sites, from what I gather, have been Digg.com, Reddit.com, and the comments on Huffington Post. Such activity will be difficult
to spot, as we were careful to refine and revise the scripts so that duplicate postings didn't happen.

That being said, if you're seeing someone posting on monday morning in exuberant favor of something that was fervently pushed in conservative media
over the weekend, there is a chance that may have been one of us especially of the topic was critical of the conservative media.

On newspaper comment sections, the shills aren't that hard to spot. If you read more than one set, and move around you can find them quite easily.
Sometimes, they don't even change their names.

The best comment sections are like finding out that you are the only real person when the Feds break in at the Black Panthers meeeting. Everyone else
is a stooge from some agency, with barely a real person to be found.

I am now all reformed and such...oh, and incidently, this person, and that person is using the same scripts I used, so disregard anything they say
considering they are paid corporate shills.

ok, gotcha.

Anyhow, Welcome to ATS...Although I suspect you may be honest, and I do accept there is reason to have people paid to soak the net full of propaganda
guising as grassroots movements...and yes, I do believe some even on ATS are pushing a paid agenda (as ATS threads tend to spike on google), I think
the premise is bad...it is easy to marginalize someone based on what could be false credentials and then a say so that dismisses them....I am sure you
understand that.

So, if you know the script, then focus on just trying to get the truth out and don't bother trying to call individuals out...if you can post scripts
that are clearly sourced by someone, then great...but ya, don't name names overall, as that is at the minimum, bad form...and probably will end up
getting you banned anyhow (once we start taking the word of random people that other people are just shills, then the website quickly becomes little
more than a salem style witch hunt)

But welcome to ATS anyhow...

Do the 20, then make a general thread about your experiences...again, don't name names, just agendas and perhaps who is signing your paychecks...try
to link to as many references as possible, and spread truth as penance for your dis-information campaign.

It's also idiots like you, who "sell their soul" to belittle other people & bring down the overall "quality" of sites, such as ATS.

Whether you still do it or not, I hope you stay off ATS & other sites, Mr. Troll.

Actually, I welcome those whom drop their former deception and come clean/whistleblow.

Stepping on a ant that walked away from the nest does nothing, but listening to the ant on how to find the queen may accomplish something..what are
you saying exactly? Consider your response....you want to shoot anyone whom comes clean..

Originally posted by SonicInfinity
Seriously guys? Are you all fooled that easily?

I thought ATS was better than this.

Some are better, some are not, and some want to know more facts (not opinions) of the claim so remain neutral about the claim...just waiting for OPs
to reach his 20 and put forward a well formed thread that exposes this organized behavior as claimed..

Originally posted by filosophia
what kind of info did you push? Can you be more specific than conservative media? Like Rush Limbaugh conservative media or Ron Paul conservative
media? Or Alex Jones conservative media?

I suspect "obamacare kills granny" type stuff...basically anything with corporations at the core of the message (obamacare ticked off many insurance
companys and had some seriously powerful organizations behind all the so called "grassroots movements")

Thats a no brainer...corporations run the west, and to challenge them in any way means tons of flak coming at you, along with an attempt to destroy
any facts, raise the people into nationalism against the anti-corporate focus, etc...

Another questionable thread. I say this is classic attention seeking behavior. Almost sounds like a western script where the used to be bad guy
reforms and all the people love him now. The Op's next move, insert himself as an authority on all subjects based on his claims which cannot be
validated. Getting the attention they obviously want. this site used to be a great place for unbiased news and events, now its turning into the
therapist's couch for under medicated people to vent.

Originally posted by halfsorry
The three most active sites, from what I gather, have been Digg.com, Reddit.com, and the comments on Huffington Post. Such activity will be difficult
to spot, as we were careful to refine and revise the scripts so that duplicate postings didn't happen.

The Huffington Post???? C'mon, dude. There is no earthly reason why any conservative should even visit Huff, a left wing loony site of there ever was
one. It is simply not worth the effort. Breitbart even helped Ariana start the site because he knew (and told her) that her approach would tend to
expose the left as bat-poop crazy as they are. When Meathead posted his first manifesto she called him up and said, "You were right!" I also do not
believe reddit nor digg would be used in this fashion. They are referral sites and nearly useless to push political agendas.

You've been asked for specifics and you're dolling them out very carefully. You could just as well be a left wing troll trying to make the right
wing look bad. I give you no further credibility. No right wing PR firm would ever hire you for what you say you were hired for.

This content community relies on user-generated content from our member contributors. The opinions of our members are not those of site ownership who maintains strict editorial agnosticism and simply provides a collaborative venue for free expression.